The following report was received from the
Washington Department of Health via email:
[The] RSO [Radiation Safety Officer] of UW [University of Washington] reported on 4/6/2016, that a package containing four 10 mCi electron capture devices (ECDs), a total activity of 40 mCi, went missing on 3/31/2016, while being transported from Sydney airport to Tasmania, Australia on a Quantas flight. Quantas has put a trace out for the missing package. The ECDs were being sent to the Marine National Facility, CSIRO [Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization] Marine Laboratories. The ECDs were to be used in gas chromatographs (GC) on board a marine vessel by a University of Washington researcher for obtaining research results. The GCs were shipped separately and these are not missing. The Radiation Safety Office did obtain an import permit from Australia for the ECD shipment, and can provide that documentation if needed.
Device Manufacturer:
Shimazdu Scientific Instruments Mini-2 GC
Serial Number: 500401
Activity: 0.010 Ci
Radionuclide: Ni-63
Device Manufacturer:
Shimazdu Scientific Instruments GC-8A
Model Number: ECD-8A
Serial Number: SS1932
Activity 0.010 Ci
Radionuclide: Ni-63
Device Manufacturer:
Shimazdu Scientific Instruments GC-8A
Model Number: ECD-8A
Serial Number: SS1953
Activity: 0.010 Ci
Radionuclide: Ni-63
Device Manufacturer:
Shimazdu Scientific Instruments GC-8A
Model Number: ECD-8A
Serial Number: SS2047
Activity: 0.010 Ci
Radionuclide: Ni-63
Package was shipped from University of Washington to Australia on 3/23/16.
Washington Incident # WA-16-010
- * * UPDATE AT 1840 EDT ON 04/22/16 FROM JAMES KILLINGBECK TO JOHN SHOEMAKER * * *
The following update was received from the State of Washington via email:
On 4/6/2016, the University of Washington (UW) reported the loss of a package containing four electron capture detectors (ECDs). Each ECD contained a 370 MBq (10 mCi) Ni-63 source. The package was being sent from UW to the Marine National Facility, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) Marine Laboratories. The shipment was initiated on 3/23/2016. The package was delivered to the Sydney, Australia, airport on 3/24/016 and was checked in by the airline on 3/24/2016 and 3/26/2016.
The airline booked the package on a flight on 3/28/2016. The package became missing on the flight from Sydney to Tasmania, Australia, on 3/31/2016. The airline put a trace on the package. The ECDs were to be used in gas chromatographs (GCs) onboard a marine vessel by a UW researcher. The GCs had been shipped separately and are not missing.
The package containing the four electron capture detectors was found on 20 April 2016, and will be shipped to its intended destination.
Apparently, the package was misplaced in Sydney, Australia or while in transit in Melbourne, Australia, and it ended up at a freight forwarding company at the Melbourne, Australia airport. The package is being retrieved from the freight forwarding company, will be cleared by customs, and will be shipped to its intended destination in Hobart, Australia.
Washington NMED Item Number 160160.
Notified R4DO (Gepford) and NMSS Events Notification via email.
THIS MATERIAL EVENT CONTAINS A "LESS THAN CAT 3" LEVEL OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL
Sources that are "Less than
IAEA Category 3 sources," are either sources that are very unlikely to cause permanent injury to individuals or contain a very small amount of radioactive material that would not cause any permanent injury. Some of these sources, such as
moisture density gauges or thickness
gauges that are Category 4, the amount of unshielded radioactive material, if not safely managed or securely protected, could possibly - although it is unlikely - temporarily injure someone who handled it or were otherwise in contact with it, or who were close to it for a period of many weeks. For additional information go to
http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1227_web.pdf